Developing a Preference Scale for a Bear: From "Bearly Like" to "Like Beary Much".

Area of Science:

• Animal cognition
• Behavioral science
• Human-animal interaction

Background:

• Developing preference scales for nonhuman animals can enhance communication beyond simple relative choices.
• Touchscreen technology offers a novel method for animals to express preferences for various stimuli, including abstract concepts.
• Limited research exists on touchscreen use for enrichment in species outside of nonhuman primates, such as bears.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using touchscreen technology to create a preference scale for a zoo-housed American black bear.
• To assess the black bear's ability to learn and utilize a preference scale for food items.
• To contribute to understanding black bear cognition and inform the development of more nuanced animal communication tools.

Main Methods:

• A single American black bear was trained to use a touchscreen interface.
• The bear was presented with food items and tasked with assigning 'like' or 'dislike' responses.
• Performance was analyzed to determine the bear's proficiency in using the preference scale.

Main Results:

• The bear demonstrated an ability to differentiate between preferred and less-preferred food items above chance levels.
• The bear did not achieve high proficiency in assigning categorical 'like' and 'dislike' responses to distinct food items.
• Conditional discriminations appeared challenging for the black bear within this task.

Conclusions:

• Touchscreen preference scales may be complex for some species, like American black bears, suggesting a need for simpler designs.
• This study provides valuable data on black bear cognition and the potential of touchscreen technology for animal enrichment.
• Findings can guide the development of more effective tools for nonhuman animals to communicate nuanced preferences to caregivers.